Tummy Time

I have been asked by a few people to post some "belly photos"...which i have reluctantly taken at their request. I don't know why but I have avoided the camera the past 7 months. It is amazing to me how pregnancy looks SO cute on everyone else, but when it comes your turn, you do not feel cute, comfortable or "camera ready". However, here are some pictures that I took to document the fact that I was actually pregnant. I think I need a few of them as proof. (Maybe stripes weren't such a good idea, don't they make you look wider) Well, I am now 29 weeks along and I am feeling really good. I have a lot more energy than I did a while ago, and I am no longer sick. Blake and I are getting so excited and are starting the count down to when this little girl will finally be here. It all seems so surreal to me that there will be a new little person here in a few weeks. We have waited so long for this and have truly learned a lot during the past few years. Most importantly we have had to learn patience. Which has not been the easiest thing for me. We are grateful for the trials we have had, for they have made us stronger, but we are so excited and grateful for the moments in our lives when all seems good and peaceful. I guess it's the trials that we go through in life that make those joyful moments that much sweeter to us.

"I see the light..."

So, owning an older home is a lot of fun if you like projects...which we seem to have a lot of right now. We have truly loved turning this house into our home and making it our own, but with that comes a lot of mess, construction and more mess. We are still working on our basement and trying to get the nursery done in time...but the other day we made a small little change in our front entryway that I have absolutely LOVED! It has changed the look of the front room a ton and makes it feel more updated. Blake found this amazing "Restoration Hardware" light on KSL about a month ago. I called the owner that day and made an appointment to come out and see it. Needless to say, we made a deal! Once we got it home, Blake began to hang it. I love Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn, but their light fixtures are not easy to hang. They come with a half page drawing as the instructions. It was a long afternoon to say the least. Finally Blake just threw the instructions/drawing aside and did it the way he thought it should be done. That went a lot better. It looks gorgeous over the staircase. It was a simple little project, but made a huge impact. I also finally hung some pictures over our dining room table area...I think they look really good. I love the teal and grass green color together. It is fun to see things coming together...I can't wait til the basement is done...it will be nice to hang out down there in the summer when it is hot. I'll have to post some pictures of that soon. It is looking really good.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this time of year. There are so many fun things to do and so many memories that are made. We have been enjoying the snow and the beginning of the Christmas season! We finally got our tree up and decorated! I set up my cute mantle, however, I think it may need some garland or something else on it to dress it up a bit. Last night we had our annual "gingerbread house competition" with my family. I think that our house won. The teams were...Blake, Kristen and Jordan. Doug, Beverley, Tiffany and Tanner. Tobin, Laura, and Alisa. We usually do Boys vs. Girls, but this year we drew names out of a bowl. It was a lot of fun. Our team made the house with the darling snowman, whose pipe was actually lit on fire (thanks to Blake and Jordan's pyrotechnics.) Next week we are going to make Gingerbread houses with the Capsons...it is so much fun having both families so close. So many fun Christmas traditions to participate in. We'll post pictures of that one too. So the dish is my new favorite Christmas decoration. I found this last year after Christmas, and It is so cute!!! I can't wait to put some yummy Christmas treats on it. Anyway, that is what we have been up to. We hope you all are having a great Holiday season so far.

Basement

So we have been working hard on our basement the past few months. It is really coming along and starting to look like a room. We are so excited to have it finished, and to be able to use this space for entertaining. Here are some pictures of what we have done so far. We have done framing, drywall (I hate drywall dust, it is absolutely EVERYWHERE) , electrical, paint, and the start of the fireplace. It's looking pretty good. We are so grateful to be able to finish this basement off the way we want to. We couldn't believe that when we bought this house, only 2 bedrooms were finished in the basement. The rest had never been finished. It is a lot of fun drawing up plans and making it our own.

It's A......Girl!!!

IT'S A GIRL!!!
We truly have so much to be thankful for! We are thankful for such wonderful family and friends who influence our lives each and everyday. We are thankful to live in such an amazing country and such a wonderful area. We are so thankful for our freedom, for our health and for all the luxuries we enjoy because we live in this great Country.
On November 25th, Blake and I went to the doctor office, and have yet one more thing to be grateful for. We got to hear the baby's heart beat and to see it moving around. We are so grateful for this pregnancy and for this new chapter of our lives. We are grateful that this pregnancy is looking healthy and strong. We were also so excited to find out that we are having a little GIRL!!! We are so excited to have this little one in our home. We can't wait to meet her. It has truly been a long time of waiting and praying for her. We think about our little Eva each day and long for the day that we will be able to hold her, we know that she knows her little sister who is coming to our home. Our little Eva has taught us so much, one of the most important things we have learned from her is patience. We have come to know that the Lord has a plan for each of us...and sometimes our timing is not His timing. That has been the hardest thing for me to understand and to accept. We know that she is with her Father in Heaven and that we will see her again. I am so grateful for the gospel and for the knowledge I have of eternal families. We are very excited for this little girl! I am looking forward to getting the nursery all ready. Pink is going to be so much fun!!!

Curtains

This has been a work in progress, however, they are finally DONE!!! Thanks to my amazingly talented mom, my living room curtains are finished. She is the best! I can't thank you enough mom for your time and help. My mom is the most amazing seamstress, and she helped me make these white linen curtains for our front room...I think they turned out great. It makes the room look so warm and homey. So here of some pics.

Clarification...

So I'm not great at putting the description of the picture next to it...so I need to explain some of the photos below. Haha. Blake went as John from "John and Kate plus 8". Do you like the dark hair & earing? I was going to try and go as Kate, but I couldn't find the right wig. So I borrowed Tobin's inflatable horse costume. It was really fun, except Cayden and Cooper wanted to ride on it. Poor little guys didn't understand that it was just full of air. Quinn was the Phantom, Meg was a beautiful fairy, the boys were UFC fighters and little Cole was Mickey Mouse. Our friends the Jensens went as Zombies...Trent couldn't wait to get dressed up in his costume. One of my favorite costumes was Juline King's, she went as the Octamom...see all the dolls tied to her? Jac and Quin went as Rhianna and Chris Brown. So hopefully that cleared up some of the costumes.

The pumkin dinner was our Halloween dinner. I made White Chicken Chili and we ate out of pumpkins (as our bowls)... Harvey was our little Jail Bird. He didn't keep the hat on very long...just long enough for some pictures. :)